Sean Payton: “Let’s not fool ourselves”

[Gumbo]

Getty Images

The conventional wisdom entering a truncated offseason was that teams with continuity would benefit most, since they already knew what to expect from coaches and players.

But the 1-2 Saints aren’t making the most of any such perceived advantage, having lost back-to-back games for the first time since their 0-2 start in 2017.

“It’s been a while since we felt that, but three years ago, we were 0-2. A little bit of a gut check, and yet we aren’t playing well enough. Let’s not fool ourselves,” Saints coach Sean Payton said, via Mike Triplett of ESPN.com. “We’re making too many mistakes. We aren’t playing disciplined enough on both sides of the ball. That’s really just the truth.

“You’re frustrated as a coach because that starts with us. We have to do a better job. We have to get ready to play a better game against Detroit [on the road next week].”

Last night’s 37-30 loss to the Packers showed an improved offensive effort from Drew Brees (and specifically Alvin Kamara), but they came undone with late penalties and a fumble by Taysom Hill in the fourth quarter. But there’s still something disjointed about their offense in the absence of injured wide receiver Michael Thomas.

“If you’re a veteran player in this league, you know you are not guaranteed anything year to year,” Brees said. “You come out and have to earn it. Based on the last two losses, we need to take a hard look here. What we’re doing, how we’re doing it, we need to be doing it better, bottom line.

“Listen, I love our team. I love the way we work, the way we prepare. But obviously, there are things that need to be corrected so we can get back on track.”

Because 1-2 was definitely not where they expected such an established and veteran team to be.